In Thailand, July 29th every year is celebrated as National Thai Language Day. However, a recent poll showed that 85.3 per cent of people surveyed in Bangkok and its neighbouring provinces were not aware of Thai language day. The survey also revealed some shocking results. According to the poll, 84.9 per cent of people surveyed said they didn’t know how many vowels existed in the Thai language. Eighty per cent of people in the same survey said they didn’t know the meaning of the word “poem”, while 75 per cent did not know the meaning of “prose”. A number didn’t know how to express the sound of each Thai syllable properly.
If the result of the Abac survey is an indicator, the younger generation does not seem to be using the Thai language properly. The Abac survey showed that the demographic group with the biggest problem using Thai is teenagers (at 80.6 per cent). This group is followed by singers (46 per cent), actors and actresses (44.8 per cent), radio hosts (18.1 per cent), politicians (17.2 per cent), TV hosts (17.2 per cent), newscasters (15.8 per cent) and teachers (8.9 per cent). Many youngsters are led to believe, by their peers and others, that it is cool to speak incorrect or slang Thai. They have seen radio and TV hosts using such language – and have heard these celebrity hosts mix up Thai with English.
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Main source: The Nation
Thank You so much Mr.Richard Barrow to give many ideas and details for us.
Mataneedol School 177 M.7 LeangMuang Rd.
Khon Kaen Thailand 40000
I’d like to know what this means: does not seem to be using the Thai language properly
There are many versions of ‘proper’ Thai. Put three locals in a room and you will get three different answers. So finding a Thai teacher to trust is difficult if you don’t know your way around the language (as one wouldn’t when starting out).